Sending machine-to-machine (M2M) messages between M2M servers and mobile or embedded devices over commercially available short message service (SMS) protocols and other message based transports can be expensive. Sending status and other infrastructure information between the device and the server is desirable, but because each message may incur a cost to the device's owner or user excessive M2M communication can be undesirable.
Each SMS message sent or received can be very expensive. The use of SMS can cost a user as much as $0.25 per message over cellular networks in the United States, and much more outside the U.S., to send an SMS message. Alternative message based protocols, such as the ORBCOMM® satellite M2M network, can be even more expensive for each message. Because the cost for messaging services over SMS for a device is typically negotiated and incurred by the customer, it makes it nearly impossible for device or application developers to make intelligent cost decisions automatically in the device software because the device or application developers providing the M2M service may not be aware of the cost per message.